Can we trust Him with our children?

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."--II Timothy 1:7

It's a mother's worst nightmare: a gunman walks onto a stage in a university lecture hall and, without warning, opens fire.

As any mom knows who has hugged their son or daughter good-bye in front of a college dorm, it's hard enough to let go of our children without the paralyzing fear that we could be putting them directly in harm's way.

But as the tragic NIU shootings last week showed us graphically, the nightmare can come true.

Northern Illinois University is less than fifty miles from where I live, so the tragedy affected many people who listen to the radio station where I work. As I blogged earlier, my radio co-host and I opened the phone lines the day after the shootings to allow listeners to talk about it and offer words of comfort and support.

We also received a host of e-mails from parents thanking God that their own NIU student had been spared.

But five sets of parents--actually six, counting the shooter--are having to deal with awful loss.

I could go on and on about the sovereignty of God (in which I do firmly believe), and tell you that our children are safe in His hands (which I also strongly believe.) But the truth is, that doesn't mean nothing bad will ever happen to our children. That doesn't mean that tragedy won't strike, and that our worst nightmare won't come true.

Years ago, I interviewed Karen Burton Mains about her book, The Fragile Curtain. Karen wrote:

"I have lived all my life behind a fragile curtain, formed by the small worlds I know: backyard worlds, the familiar ground of home and work...Illusion is my curtain's name, the illusion that all is well, that I am safe. Neither is it mine alone. . . . "

The sudden life-threatening illness of one her children forced Mains to realize how easily that "fragile curtain" can be torn.

All of that is true. But we don't have to live in fear. As hard as it is--and I don't believe we can do it in our own strength--we have to give that fear to the Lord. We have to trust Him that His ways and His plans are best. We have ask Him to help us deal with that spirit of fear.

An old Twila Paris song talks about the question of trusting God:

Do I trust You, Lord?
Does the robin sing?
Do I trust You, Lord?
Does it rain in spring?
You can see my heart,
You can read my mind,
And You got to know
That I would rather die
Than to lose my faith
In the One I love.
Do I trust You, Lord?
Do I trust You?

Can we trust Him with our children?

Without a doubt, yes.

Father, help me realize that I can trust you with my children--their plans, their hopes, their dreams, their very lives, their eternal futures. Help me not to fear. Help me to trust in You. Thank you for loving my children so much more than even I do. --Amen.

--Cindy Swanson

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